Weighing device



J. s. HEDGES WEIGHING DEVICE Filed Oct. l5, 1936 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY;

-Patented Sept. 6, 1938 UNITED STATES YPATENT F Fil CE 2 Claims.

This Ainvention relatesto new and useful irnprovements in fish landing devices such for eX- ample as'nets, gaffs and the like, and more particularly itr pertains to fish landing devices which willl permit of weighing a fish immediately it is caught.

Other objects vof the invention will appear as ythe nature thereof is better understood, for which purpose, reference will be'had to the following speciiication and claims and the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure'l is a' fragmentary perspective view of a fish landing net constructed in accordance with the present invention,

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the manner in which the device is used,

Figure 3' is a 'detail longitudinal sectional view taken on an enlarged scale,

Figure 4 is a'detail' fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of the invention, and;

yFigure 5 is a View similar to Figure 4 taken in -a plane at right angles to the plane of Figure 4, said Figure 5 being on an enlarged scale.

Referring to the drawing'by reference character `and particularly to Figures 1 to 3, inclusive,'the-reference character A designates the body of a landing net, B designating the handle thereof.

In carrying out the present invention, I preferably provide the handle B with a longitudinally extending recess IB and in this recess IIJ Imount a scale designated C.

vIn thepresent instancegthe scale comprises a housing II for reception within the recess I0,

and said housing carries a dome or cap-like member i2. This dome or cap-like member I2 may be a separatel element or it may be suitably secured to the housing II by electric welding or in any other desired manner.

Mounted within this housing II there is a second housing I3 and this second housing I3 has a frictional t with the housing I I, which will be sufficient to prevent sliding movement of the housing I3 within the housing II under ordinary conditions of use. Passing through the bottom wall I4 of the housing II there is a lug I5, this lug being held in place in the housing I I by a cross pin I6 passing through an opening I'I in the lug, the cross pin being disposed eX- terior of the housing II. Embracing the lug I5 there is a coil spring IB, the upper end of which embraces a lug I9, which lug I9 has an extension 20. The coil spring I8 is mounted in a housing 2I which in turn is slidably mounted in the housing'I3 and the lug 120, heretofore mentioned, projects through a suitableslot or opening in the end wall of said vhousing `2I. Pivotally mounted as at'22 .upon the end vof the projection 20 there edbetween lits ends to the extension 20. One end of' this lever 23 is formed witha ring or similar vopening 24, the other end thereof being formed lwith a hook25, the purpose of which will be hereinafter moreA specifically described.

'From the' foregoing it will be apparent that in the position 'shown in Figure' 3, any weight which may bepresent in the body A of the landing net will exert afdownwardpull upon the handle B, y causingV the housing I3 to slide upon the housing ZI or in other words, cause the housing ."2I to move outwardly of the housing II. The housing 2 I isprovided with calibrations 28 which pass in juxtaposition to the edge 29 of the housing I3, and it will be understood .that the construction and Varrangementof parts is such that the calibration coincidingwth the edge'29 of the end trated inFigure 2.

In ordinary use as a'landing net it is to be 'understood that thev scale, while not ,necessarily l so,` is, preferably held in an inoperative position, and this isaccomplishedlby engagement of the hooked endj25 of the pivotall lever'f23' beneath the shoulder 30 ofthe cap I2, as illustrated in Figure .1. In order to maintain this engagement between the hook 25 andthe shoulder 3D, a coil spring 3`I,.passes around the pivotal pin which forms the pivotal point`22 of the lever v23, one end of the spring engaging the end wall of the housing 2| as at 32, the other end engaging the lever 23 as at 33.

As heretofore mentioned, the housing I3 has a friction sliding fit with the housing I I and it is the purpose of this construction to provide means whereby the housing I3 may be moved or adjusted within the housing II to compensate for the weight of a wet net or to make a proper adjustment of the scale should the same become out of adjustment for any reason whatsoever.

In Figures 4 and 5 a slightly modified form of the invention is illustrated and in this form of the invention, the handle 4l] of the net is hollowed out as at 4I to receive a tubular housing 42 which is held in position in the handle by a set screw 43. The upper end of the housing is closed as at yis a lever v'23. "The lever 23 is pivotally connect- '5 44 and provided with an opening 45, preferably circular in form. The hollowed out portion 4| of the handle is enlarged as at 46 and embracing the housing 42 and movable longitudinally of this enlarged portion 46 there is a housing 41. This housing 41 has a closed end 48 which is slotted as at 49. The two housings 42 and 41 are threaded together as at 50 and this construction provides for the adjustment of the housings relative to each other.

The reference numeral 5| designates a tape-like member upon the lower end of which is secured a plate 52. Interposed between this plate 52 and the closed end 44 of the housing 42 there is a coil spring 53. The tape 5| passes through the circular opening 45 in the housing 42 and through the slot 49 in the housing 41, and is secured as at 55 to a pivotal lever 56, the point of securement being between the intermediate ends of the lever. One end of the lever is provided with a hook 51 which is adapted to be engaged beneath a cap-like member 58 similar to the cap I2, heretofore described. The pivoted lever 56 differs slightly in form from the pivoted lever 23, heretofore described, in that it is provided with a nose portion 59 which engages the closed end Wall of the housing 41, as best illustrated in Figure 5. This nose portion forms a cam which tends to force the lever outwardly to place the spring 53 under tension to hold the hooked portion 51 in engagement with the cap 58 when the scales are not in use, thus maintaining the scales in their inoperative position and leaving the net free for operation in the usual manner without interference on the part of the scales. It will also be noted that the tape-like member is attached to the pivoted lever 56 in such a manner as to provide a curved or arcuate portion 55 in the tapelike member 5I, which construction positions the point 55 of securement out of alinernent with the longitudinal axis of the handle. This construction will place the tape under tension, and this tension will be so exerted as to cause the hooked end 51 of the pivoted lever 56 to normally engage beneath the cap-like member 58. When it is desired to use the scales, it is only necessary to rock the lever 56 to the right in Figure 5, Whereupon the nose portion 59 will place the spring under sufficient compression to permit of the hooked portion 51 of the lever passing free of the shoulder of the cap 58, whereupon the device is capable of use in the same manner as in the heretofore described form of the invention, the pivoted lever 56 forming the means for suspending the device in operative position as a scale.

As heretofore stated, the two housings 42 and 41 are threaded together as at 5U, and this construction provides an adjustment whereby the housing 41 may be adjusted relative to the housing 42 to compensate for any discrepancies in the scales or to compensate for a weighing net. By this construction it will be apparent that the distance from the point 55 of securement of the taplike member to the shoulder formed on the cap 58 will always be the same regardless of the relative adjustments of the housings 42 and 41, it being understood that the cap 58 is carried by the housing 41, and that, therefore, the lever 56 will always function to retain the scale in inoperative position regardless of the adjustment of the said housings 42 and 41.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present invention provides a new and novel construction in fish landing nets whereby a sh may be weighed accurately at the time of its capture, thus obtaining the maximum weight of the sh. since it is a well known fact that sh decrease in weight as the time for which they have been removed from the Water increases. Furthermore, it will be obvious that the present invention provides a new and novel construction in which a weighing scale may be incorporated in the handle portion of a fish landing net in such a manner as not to interfere with the ordinary operation of the net when employed in landing a rlsh.

While the invention has been herein disclosed in its preferred forms, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific construction herein employed and that it may be practiced in other forms within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is:

1. In a weighing scale, a housing having an open end, a shoulder extending around the housing adjacent the open end thereof, a scale member movable with respect to the housing to perform a weighing operation, and means carried by the movable scale member and having engagement with said shoulder to secure the movable scale member relatively to the housing.

2. In a` weighing scale, a housing having an open end, a shoulder extending around the nousing adjacent the open end thereof, a scale member movable with respect to the housing to perform a weighing operation, and means carried by the movable scale member and having engagement with said shoulder to secure the movable scale member relatively to the housing, said last mentioned means including a supporting handle carried by the movable scale member and a shoulder engaging hook comprising a rigid angular extension of the supporting handle.

JAMES S. HEDGES. 

